A traditional part of American education has been to include the families in the educational process of their children. The needs and complexities of today's families and classrooms have never been greater. Programs and activities used with families, and school interactions 10 to 15 years ago are not effective for today's complex families and lifestyles. As the boundaries that separate home and school become blurred the situation has provided a rich environment for school personnel to connect with families in new ways. Since there is a national discussion about literacy rates and physical fitness of the citizens of this nation it is time to deal with those issues. Families and school personnel need to focus on literacy and physical fitness to make changes in two important areas in relation to the lives of children in this country. This article presents some suggested activities that have a literacy and physical activity component in which school personnel and family members can participate.